California poppy is a small (10-50 cm tall) herbaceous annual or short-lived perennial. It has bluish-green, glaucous, much-divided basal leaves with very narrow ultimate segments. The yellow to orange (occasionally white) flowers are large and showy (1-5 cm across), usually solitary on long stems. The fruits are long thin capsules that fling seeds up to a meter away when they abruptly open. California poppy is native from the Columbia gorge south, but has been introduced to western Washington in wildflower mixture plantings. It is very common on roadsides, clearings, and dry rocky slopes at low elevations.